


En Forelskelse +10

by Shorina



Category: En Forelskelse | Awakening (2008)
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, M/M, struggling with tempation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 17:30:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5425694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shorina/pseuds/Shorina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A chance meeting brings Carsten and Stig face to face again after ten years. How will they react?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Friday, November 30, 2018, Restaurant Reef 'n' Beef, Copenhagen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beth_anais](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beth_anais/gifts).



> Dear beth_anais, I hope you'll enjoy my idea of how Carsten and Stig's meeting 10 years on from canon might play out. Happy Yuletide!

At a table for two, Carsten smiled shyly at Pernille, his date. He had chosen this restaurant for their first date, but now that they were there, he found the place a little intimidating. It was a more formal setting than he usually chose for his dates, but Pernille belonged to a well-off family and seemed to feel right at home in the restaurant.

He waited for her to lower her menu. “What will you have?”

“I think I'll try the kangaroo steak. You?”

“Hm, have you ever eaten crocodile? I wonder what it tastes like.”

“Try it!” Pernille encouraged him with a wide smile.

“I might, actually.”

While the young people made up their minds about their orders, their waiter walked past, leading two new arrivals to a nearby table; it was two men in their fifties. Once they were seated, the waiter took Carsten's and Pernille's orders and they engaged in idle chit-chat as they waited for their drinks. Carsten relaxed a little. This was why he liked Pernille, he enjoyed chatting to her. She never seemed to look down on him and the way she smiled at him gave him a pleasantly warm feeling inside.

While they chatted, something further into the restaurant drew his gaze away from his date for a moment – something beyond the table the two men now sat at. It might just have been a flickering candle, but it had made him turn his head.

“What?” Pernille had noticed his wandering attention and twisted in her chair to look over her shoulder.

Carsten shook his head. “Nothing. I don't know. Just a flickering light or something.” He smiled at her to reassure her that she had his attention. But soon his gaze wandered back to the earlier direction as something registered in his brain: He knew one of the two men sitting at the other table, and recognition hit him like a fist to his stomach.

The man sitting there, reading glasses perched on his nose as he studied the menu, was none other than Stig, father of Melissa, husband of Birgitte and the reason he broke up with Melissa. Stig, the man he had fallen for so easily. The first – and so far only man – he had ever fallen in love with. How long had it been? He thought back. About ten years had to have passed since then. He had been sixteen and it had been in early autumn when they first met; the duck-hunting season had just begun.

“Carsten? Carsten!”

Pernille's voice jolted him out of his thoughts. 

“Sorry. I just... I thought I recognised someone from a long time ago. It took me a moment to put a name to the face.”

“Who?” She looked about as if she were expecting to see a former girlfriend of Carsten's.

“Never mind. It's not important. Hey – do you know that feeling when you know you've seen someone before but can't place the person? You can't relax until you remember who it is. That's what this was.”

“And now you have remembered?”

“Yeah.” He smiled at her apologetically.

“Okay, then.” She didn't sound overly happy or convinced that the matter was settled but let it pass. Carsten picked up on her mood, he could have kicked himself for – well, for nearly forgetting she was there for a moment. Here he was, dating a hot, clever and even rich girl, and instead of paying her the attention she deserved, he was reminiscing about one of the biggest mistakes of his life! No, not one of the biggest, _the_ biggest mistake of his life!

But he still looked good, Stig, even ten years older and wearing reading glasses, he still looked good. He still had that boyish floppy hair, though it was greying a little at the temples, and, as far as Carsten could tell, he still seemed to be in great shape.

Pernille! He ought to focus on her. Sweet Pernille! Carsten tried to focus on her and did his best to push all thoughts of Stig out of his mind. He asked about her classes at university and the smile returned to her face as she started telling him about a lab test she had to do for her chemistry class. 

Carsten barely understood a word of it, chemistry had never been his forte. Still, he nodded and smiled, but his mind wandered off again. Unwanted memories popped up, memories of sitting next to Stig in his car, of kissing him, of standing in his living room, confused by his own desire for the older man, of being held and comforted, of … more. Memories he had buried as deeply as possible, but apparently not deep enough to keep them buried forever. At least not when confronted with the man himself.

“... and then the world ended.”

“Oh yeah? Cool,” Carsten heard himself reply.

“Carsten! You're not listening to a word I say!” Pernille complained, the volume of her voice rising.

“I – I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me tonight. I'm usually a good listener, really.”

“Well, then maybe I'm just too boring.” She pushed her chair back angrily and stormed off without a further word.

Carsten hurriedly tried to stand as well, but there was so little space behind his chair that it was impossible to push it far enough back. In his hasty attempt to stand, he had to steady himself on the table momentarily to prevent himself from ending up sprawled over it. 

“Pernille, wait! I'm sorry,” he called after her, but she didn't even bother to turn and look at him.

Instead he suddenly sensed someone else's eyes on him, which wasn't all that surprising considering the scene they'd just caused. Half of the guests and staff probably stared at him, but he didn't have time for them now. He finally disentangled himself from his chair and hurried after Pernille. “Wait! Pernille!”

This time he at least got a reaction from her. “Wait? What for? For you to finally decide I'm interesting enough to pay me attention?” she snapped at him. “I'm leaving.” She pushed open the door and strode out. If the door hadn't been equipped with a door closer, she'd have slammed it shut behind her.

Carsten stood in the middle of the restaurant, uncertain how to react. Should he hurry after her? He could understand her hurt feelings, her anger at him, but would he get into more trouble with the restaurant if he, too, left?

A hand landed on his shoulder. It probably was one of the waiters, he thought, ready to throw him out anyway for causing this disturbance. He turned with a guilty expression on his face – and found himself face to face with Stig.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's Carsten, isn't it?”

“Uh – yes. Hey.” It was the best his brain could come up with. Not very original, but Stig didn't seem to mind. He smiled at Carsten. 

“I thought it was you. That,” he nodded in the direction of the front door, “didn't work too well, did it? First date?” He guessed.

Carsten nodded and sighed. “And last, I suppose.”

“I'm sorry. She was very pretty.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, look, I know we haven't seen each other in a while –”

“Ten years.”

“That long? Yeah, I suppose. But look, if you still want to eat but don't want to sit on your own, why not join my partner and I?”

“Uh – partner?”

Stig led him over to his own table with a hand on his arm. “Carsten, meet Mads, my business partner. Mads, this is Carsten. He – he dated Melissa for a while.”

“Hi Carsten.” Mads offered his hand with a welcoming smile.

“Hello. Uh, I should probably see if I can cancel Pernille's order?” Carsten looked at Stig, hoping for some guidance. His calm intervention at least seemed to have spared him from being thrown out.

“Yes, that might be a good idea.”

Mads stopped him, reaching for his arm as Carsten was about to turn away to look for the waiter. “Wait, what did she order? We haven't ordered yet, maybe one of us wants it.”

“Uh, the kangaroo steak.”

Stig pointed to the empty chair next to Mads. “I was going to order that, I'll take it.”

“Really? That's great. Thanks so much.”

Carsten sat down and soon found talking to the two older men a lot easier than chatting to Pernille had been. He had never known what Stig did for a living but it turned out he and Mads worked in a field that interested him and was even related to his classes at university. They seemed equally interested in what he told them about his studies, both asking questions.

What they told him about their company sounded really cool to Carsten, so he was a little ashamed to tell them about his part-time job at the supermarket that he had taken on to be able to pay the bills. Stig and Mads were very understanding, though, and even praised him for not simply relying on his parents to back him.

Despite the horrible start to the evening, Carsten enjoyed himself and was in an elated mood by the time they parted ways outside the restaurant.

His head was still processing everything he had learned from the two men as he walked home so it was only when he let himself into his dorm room that he remembered Pernille. He immediately tried to call her but only reached her voice mail. He left another apology, but it sounded half-hearted even to his own ears. With the way the evening had gone, he wasn't all that sorry their date hadn't worked out. It had been really good to talk to people who understood his passion for his subject, and it had even distracted him from the memories of what had happened ten years ago. He felt good about overcoming them. It had been a phase back then, and he was over it.


	2. Tuesday, December 4, 2018 – Fakta supermarket, Copenhagen

Carsten was filling up the soup-shelf when someone approached him. “Could you pass me some tomato soup, please?”

“Of course,” he replied, then recognised the voice and handed over the requested item with a smile spreading on his face. “Hi Stig. Here you are.”

No reading glasses today, he noted. Stig was wearing a warm coat, buttoned up high, and his hair looked a little tousled from the storm outside. It was a good look for him, Carsten decided.

“Thank you. Actually, I was hoping to meet you. You weren't here yesterday.”

“No, I have classes all day on Mondays.”

“I see. Well, now you're here.” Stig smiled that smile at him that had nearly made Carsten's legs go weak ten years ago. And Carsten found that when standing, the effect hadn't diminished much after all.

“Yes.” Why was Stig here?

“Well, I was wondering – the other day you said you'll need a work placement soon?”

“Yeah. And stocking shelves doesn't count, I'm afraid,” he joked.

Stig seemed amused. “Probably not. Well, why don't you do the work placement with us? Mads and I? I think we could offer you the kind of experience you need.”

“Really?!” Carsten beamed up at him. “That'd be fantastic!”

“Good. So,” Stig reached into his pocket and handed Carsten a business card. “Give me a call some time and we can talk about the details? Best call my mobile, the number is on the card.”

“Yeah. Sure! Thanks so much for offering.”

“You're welcome.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, both wondering how, and ultimately failing to keep the conversation going from there.

“Well, I'll leave you to...” Stig gestured at the soup cans.

“Oh yeah, I'd better get on with it. The boss doesn't like me idling my time away.”

“Yeah. Well, do give me a call.”

“I will! Thanks again.”

“No problem. Talk to you soon, Carsten.”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

As Stig walked away, Carsten studied the business card for a moment, then carefully pocketed it. He felt like he'd just been handed a treasure map. He just wasn't sure what the treasure was. Was it the work placement or could there be... something more? Did he even want more? If the elated rate of his heartbeat was anything to go by, then yes, he did.


	3. Wednesday, December 5, 2018 – Carsten's dorm, university district of Copenhagen

Carsten had saved Stig's number to his mobile the moment his shift at the supermarket had ended the day before. The business card had been placed on his pin board.

He had been fretting over calling Stig all morning already. “ _Give me a call some time_ ,” Stig had said. Was calling him right the next day too soon, would he seem too eager? He could postpone it until Friday. But maybe Stig would be disappointed if he didn't call sooner? Carsten just couldn't make up his mind. But if he wanted to call today, he had better make up his mind fast, as his next class was bound to start soon.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed the dial button; he had already had the number called up on his mobile, as if staring at it could have helped him reach a decision. 

As the call went through, Carsten held his breath. He started to fear his call would go through to voice mail as it had already rung for a while when Stig took the call after all, and Carsten started breathing again.

“Yes?”

“Stig? It's Carsten. You said I should call...”

“Oh. Carsten. Yeah. Look, it's not a good time right now. Can I call you back?”

“Uhm, I have to be in class soon.”

“Hm. I see. Hang on a second.” Muffled sounds reached Carsten's ear for a moment before Stig's voice returned. “I'm pretty busy today. Are you free early this evening? I need to do some Christmas shopping, but we could meet for a coffee in the city.”

“Yeah, sure.” Carsten's heart skipped a beat. He knew he shouldn't get this excited at the prospect of meeting Stig, but he couldn't help himself. The thought was too enticing. “When?”

“Let's say six fifteen at the café in Illum?”

“Sounds good. That's pretty close to uni so I can easily get there.”

“Good. See you then, Carsten.”

“Yeah. See you.” When the line went dead, Carsten looked at his phone in amazement. He wasn't sure what this unexpected meeting meant. It might be just about the work placement, but he was more excited about it than he had been about what had _definitely_ been a date with Pernille.


	4. Wednesday, December 5, 2018 – Café at Illum, Copenhagen

Carsten reached the café two minutes late. His last class had not finished on time and he had had to run to get to Illum. Once he was inside the big department store, he couldn't get down the escalator fast enough and brushed past some people, mumbling apologies over his shoulder.

He spotted Stig before he even stepped off the escalator: He was standing just outside the café's area, talking on his mobile. Carsten forced himself to approach slowly and stop at a distance that would grant Stig privacy for the call. Stig, however, had spotted him and waved him closer.

“Okay, I'll pick it up for you on the way home. Bye.” Stig ended his call and smiled a welcome at Carsten. “Birgitte wants me to pick up a dress from the dry cleaner on the way home.” He pocketed his phone. “I hope I'll make it on time. I'm not sure they're open all that long.”

“I'm sorry, if you're in a hurry we can meet ano–”

“No. It's okay. It'll be a while yet anyway until I get home.”

“Right, your Christmas shopping?”

Stig nodded and changed the topic. “I think I promised you a coffee. What would you like?”

Carsten had gone over the few words they had exchanged earlier on the phone several times throughout the afternoon and there had been no promise of Stig inviting him to coffee; just to meet for a coffee. With his friends that always meant each paying their own drink so this was a surprise. “Uhm, an espresso would be good. I still have to work on a paper later on. I could do with the caffeine.” 

He immediately doubted his choice. An espresso was quickly consumed. Was that a good or a bad thing? He wouldn't be keeping Stig for long, he seemed busy enough. On the other hand, an espresso _was_ quickly consumed and he definitely wouldn't mind spending a little longer in Stig's company. Damn, was there a right way?

“Caffeine – a student's life-saver, hm? Sure, one espresso coming up. There's a free table over there, why don't you sit down and I'll get the coffee?”

Nodding, Carsten walked to the table and sat down. If he kept fretting about every little thing, a work placement with Stig would turn into a disaster. The problem was that he didn't know what Stig wanted; not even why he had approached him at the restaurant in the first place, though that might have been pity. Pity, though, was no reason to offer him a work placement and go to the trouble of tracking him down at the supermarket.

“Thinking about your paper?” Stig asked as he arrived with their coffees; a tiny cup of espresso for Carsten and a bigger white coffee for himself.

Carsten looked up at him and followed him with his eyes as Stig slid into the seat opposite.

“Actually I was wondering why you're offering me a work placement. You barely know me.”

Stig picked up his cup and took a sip of coffee. “You left a good impression.”

Twice Stig had more or less been witness to his problems with girls. That had left a good impression? “Really?”

“When you talked about your studies on Friday, you seemed to be really enthusiastic about it. Did I read that wrong?”

“No! No, you didn't. I really enjoy it,” Carsten confirmed.

Stig nodded and offered him one of his gentle smiles again. “Well, what exactly do you need to do during your work placement?”

So this really was only about that. Carsten's heart sank a little, but not too much, because it was true, he loved his subject. Also, Stig and Mads had both been so kind to him on Friday that he would indeed like to work with them for a while; especially once he was certain what to expect. So he described the tasks he would have to do in as much detail as he could.

Stig listened quietly, occasionally took a sip of his coffee, and waited for Carsten to finish. Once he had, he leaned forward. “Well, as I said, I believe we can offer you to do all that with us. This would be for a month, right?”

“Yeah. Four weeks.”

“When do you need to do this? We've got a project coming up where you could get in touch with most of the things you mentioned. And we can squeeze the rest in somewhere as well.”

“Before March. I need to have finished the four weeks before the next term starts.”

They went on to discuss the optimal timing, the company's schedule versus Carsten's classes and exams, and soon agreed on late January as the starting date.

Meanwhile they had both finished their coffees and Stig checked his watch. “Well, I'm glad we've sorted this out so quickly,” he said and got up.

“Yeah, me, too.” But something was still on Carsten's mind, and he hesitated before standing. “Stig, can I ask you something personal?”

Stig cast a look around the café as if to make sure no one was listening, then nodded, although he seemed a little wary. “What?”

Carsten stepped up to him so he didn't need to raise his voice and tried to sound casual. “Why did you approach me at the restaurant on Friday?”

Stig looked at his watch again before replying. It might have been to stall for time, it might have been because he really felt he had to get going. Carsten wasn't sure.

“I –“ Stig started, but stopped and shook his head. “Not here. Not now.” He faced Carsten. “If your paper isn't too urgent, meet me at my office tonight at nine?”

That was not what Carsten had expected and the surprise showed on his face. “No, the paper can wait another day.”

“Okay, you have the address. I really have to go now.”

“Yeah. Okay. See you then.”

He watched Stig walk to the escalator, wondering what this meeting would be about. Would they be alone at Stig's office? At nine in the evening? It seemed likely. He looked at his watch, there was still time to pick up something for dinner and even do a little work on his paper. If he could concentrate on it.


	5. Wednesday, December 5, 2018 – Stig's Office, Copenhagen

Carsten had eventually managed to drag his mind to his paper and thus had had to push himself as he cycled to the address printed on Stig's business card. He didn't want to be late for a second time in one day, though Stig probably hadn't even noticed he was a little late the first time around, distracted by the phone call. At least, he hadn't mentioned it.

As Carsten locked up his bicycle in front of the office building, wondering if the door would be open, he heard the crunch of another bicycle coming to a halt on the gravel.

“Hey.”

“Hey Stig.” He watched as Stig swung a long leg over the rear of the bicycle as he descended and then bent to lock it in the stand next to Carsten's.

“Sorry we have to meet so late, but I had to be home for dinner.”

“No problem,” Carsten reassured him though he wasn't too happy about the constant reminders that Stig was married. 

As they walked to the entrance side by side, it occurred to Carsten that he hadn't even asked about Melissa and Birgitta. Was that rude of him? But then, they hadn't really touched any personal topics aside from his own failed date with Pernille. 

“Come on in, then.” Stig's voice as he unlocked the door and held it open for Carsten, brought him back to the present. He followed Stig to his office, which, aside from Stig's desk and other office furniture, held a sofa and a side table. Stig motioned for him to sit on the sofa and then perched on the edge of the seat next to him.

Carsten glanced at him, wondering if he should reach out, or maybe touch his knee to Stig's. He forced himself to sit still and wait, though. He had pushed Stig ten years ago and – well, it hadn't exactly been a success. So he sat and waited for Stig to speak or act.

He had to wait for a minute or two until he spoke up. 

“I know I still owe you an answer. The problem is, I'm not sure I know the answer myself.” He stared straight ahead for another long, silent moment before finally turning to look at Carsten.

“Ten years ago you really got under my skin. An attractive young man showing interest in me was – very flattering. And the best answer I have as to why I approached you on Friday is that seeing you again, especially looking as lost as you did at that moment, brought it back.”

“So you felt pity for me.”

Stig nodded, then shook his head. “Maybe a little. But mostly it brought back a flood of memories.”

“For me, too. Actually, it was seeing you at the restaurant that made me mess up my date. It triggered so many memories for me as well, I just couldn't concentrate on a word Pernille said.” Knowing that he wasn't the only one affected by such memories made it easier to talk about it.

“Oh.” Stig studied his face. “You did have quite a crush on me back then, didn't you?”

Carsten nodded, fighting down the blush he thought he felt spread across his cheeks.

Stig continued. “I liked you back then. I still do, in some way maybe even more. But – looking back I'm glad it ended for us where it did.”

“Because it was wrong.”

“For several reasons, obviously.”

Carsten swallowed hard before meekly mumbling “yes”.

“I mean – you were a minor to start with, my daughter's boyfriend and –“

“A guy,” Carsten interjected.

Stig threw him a look of surprise that then turned to worry. “You thought I sent you away because of your sex?”

The question made Carsten look him straight in the face. “Didn't you?”

“No.” He shook his head decisively. “I'm bisexual, I've known that for a long time. But Carsten, I'm married. I love Birgitte and I don't want to cheat on her. Not with a man, not with a woman.”

When Carsten said nothing in return, he continued, “I thought you had understood my reasons back then. Now I'm wondering if I should have taken the time to explain them to you.” He put a hand on Carsten's shoulder.

“No, it's – it's not your fault. I – I was jumping to conclusions. I was so confused because I had never felt that way for a man before.”

“Have you felt that way for a man since?”

Carsten shook his head. “No. I've only dated girls.”

“You never _dated_ me.”

“True. Though I did ask you out,” Carsten said with a grim smile, remembering offering a concert ticket to Stig. 

“You did. And – I was flattered. But it would have been wrong. I would have given you hope for something that could not be.”

Carsten nodded. “Yes. I guess my girlfriend's father was pretty much the worst guy I could fall for.” He paused, sighed, then continued. “I still think you're an attractive man. What I felt ten years ago, it – it's still there to some extent. But I understand that you're a happily married man and the last thing I want to do is cause you any trouble. If you want to go back on your offer now...”

“The work placement? No. If you think you can work with me, I'm confident I can work with you. And what I told you earlier on is true. You seem so enthusiastic about your studies that I'd really like to help you out with this. And it's not solely my decision, Mads agreed to offer you this chance.”

Carsten offered Stig a small smile. “Yes, I think I can work with you. I mean, I'm sure there are hundreds or even thousands of people who fancy someone they work with and still manage, right?”

Stig smiled. “Yes.”

“Then I'll manage, too.”

“Good. I'm glad to hear it.” Stig patted his shoulder, then withdrew his hand. “And well, this time we both know where we're standing concerning each other.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Stig. For –“ He searched for words to convey what he wanted to thank him for. For offering him the work placement. For explaining what had happened so long ago. For not letting him become the reason for a divorce. He had caused too much pain in Stig's family already, the break with Melissa had been bad enough. But he didn't know how to put his thoughts into words. 

“For everything,” he decided was simplest and best.

**Author's Note:**

> Canon did not give any details about where the film is taking place, so I took the liberty of placing it in Copenhagen, where I know my way around a bit. Thanks go to This is the morning for her beta job. All remaining errors are my fault.


End file.
